Anything about Golden Sun DS, maybe?I hope so.
Anything about Golden Sun DS, maybe?
http://e3.gamespot.com/video/6265343/
Rez pseudo-sequel (Mizuguchi again) for 360/PS3. Video makes it pretty clear that Kinect/Move is the intended control method.
Rez pseudo-sequelAwesome!
Kinect/Move is the intended control method.god damn it
Fuck yeah Dead Space 2 PC controls fixed.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=250760
/me looks at JT's new av, which gets him thinking...
...Pshaw, I wish. Then again, does Skies really NEED a sequel?...Though, speaking of surprise sequels to older games with cultish followings, new info on Rocket Knight popping up would be nice....Or ir's already out. :|
OH GOD YES (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hJQRSB6IqE&hd=1)
I am so happy right now. Thank you, Criterion.
I know I for one would kill to see a sequel or spiritual successor to Skies of Arcadia. I feel like there are way too many flowery, angst-ridden, FF7/Evangelion-inspired JRPGs. We need more hotblooded adventures like Skies.
OH GOD YES (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hJQRSB6IqE&hd=1)
I am so happy right now. Thank you, Criterion.
Oh yeah, and i can't wait to see the parental watchgroups' reactions to Naughty Bear. It's going to be HILARIOUS. :smug:Hmm I wonder if Jack Thompson is still around...
Looks sweet as hell, but Ha ha, old chap! cops in veyrons.
Looks like another year without a beyond good & evil 2 announcement.
:colonveeplusalpha:
(http://img816.imageshack.us/img816/5584/negativeman55f.png)
RRoD has been fixed for years. Falcon fixed most of it and Jasper fixed the rest. Only thing new to the table is built-in wifi and quieter design.
And MICHEAL JACKSON!!!! Except not. ::)
"Just so you're not wasting time wondering: YES - Child of Eden supports regular controllers, too."Child of Eden / Rez pseudo sequel confirmed to support regular controls as well as motion shenanigans. (http://twitter.com/jamesmielke) I can breathe a little easier now.
Also, I don't understand what merging garlyle is talking about with that quantem theory game. Looks like some kinda generic space marine tps game to me.Yeah, at first glance. Then you realise the design of the characters is distinctly in that "Realistic Anime" format, that the plot and setting are shaping with JRPG traditions (Giant towers that are half-alive and randomly shifting)... it's just glossed over with western TPS gameplay and grit. Like I said, it could be an awesome combo, because both sides of those have had some -really- good results from time to time - but they're also the chance of it taking nothing but the most generic elements of both sides in which case AUGH.
After unveiling the new slimmer 360 at the close of their press briefing, Microsoft offered me a chance to check one out more closely. My immediate question was just how "whisper quiet" is this thing? The answer is, pretty damn quiet. Much of the noise from the old 360 actually came from the DVD drive spinning. I popped Alan Wake into the new machine and waited to hear what happened. Not much. The new optical drive makes very little noise beyond a few confident clicks as the tray locks into place and it goes about its business.
Likewise, the switch to a larger diameter, slower RPM fan eliminates almost all noise from that either. It also seems to have helped with circulation. Holding my hand above the vented top (with the console stood up) I could easily feel the air being drawn into the case. Internal updates also appear to help the new smaller 360 stay cool. The new model gets 45nm chips and the resulting reduction in power draw has let them drop the new power brick to 135 watts.
Other changes, including the new aesthetic, are refinements aimed at making the 360 more at home in the entertainment center. The glossy piano black finish looks like the bezel material on many modern HDTVs. The new touch sensitive buttons responded quickly and predictably to my finger. There are now plenty of connections on the back including three USB ports and an optical S/PDIF port. And lest it go overlooked, they've finally included built-in Wi-Fi with support for 802.11n. It's a nice enough refresh of the system that more than a few existing owners are going to be tempted to get a new machine.
adjectives
Oh man yes. Scribblenauts was brilliant save for a few flaws. Here's hoping they really did fix them all.
The chances of them having fixed the controls are slim to none.At the very least, it seems like you can move Maxwell with the d-pad.
Adjectives are a fantastic idea to an already fantastic game, though.
Golden Sun: Dark Dawn! :O :O :O
:* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :*My reaction exactly.
Golden Sun: Dark Dawn! :O :O :OOH YEAH[/koolaid]
ALSO 3DS KID ICARUS
...
I'm not usually one for Nintendo's repetitive product placement but I will be first in line to get a 3DS. Holy crap.
@TSO: C'mon, TWO cameras on the outside so you can take 3d pictures. :O :O How awesome is this.
ALSO 3DS KID ICARUS
Considering my bad eyesight severely limits 3-D for me (9 times out of 10 it simply looks 2D), so I'm hesitant.
They're really pushing 3rd party, which was definitely the biggest question mark going in; at least they acknowledging it. If those games (Metal Gear, Kingdom Hearts, Resident Evil) can actually pull it off, even on just their handheld, it'd quiet a lot of worries.
The problem with the "3D" part, is it's going to be a gimmick for 90% of the titles. Just like the touch controls on the DS just ended up being painful gimmicks for all but a very few select titles. At least with touch controls there's not much you can screw with except making all the buttons touch or requiring dumb stylus marks. Being forced to use those plastic glasses to play the game? No thanks.
Considering my bad eyesight severely limits 3-D for me (9 times out of 10 it simply looks 2D), so I'm hesitant.That's not a problem. You can turn off the 3D stuff with a slider, anyway.
Er, no glasses required. That was the whole point.
That's not a problem. You can turn off the 3D stuff with a slider, anyway.
The "3D" effect gets old and frankly stereoscopic vision causes eyestrain much faster than normal flat projection.
? The Nintendo 3DS is black and blue
? As promised, this is a glasses-free 3D device
? Two cameras on the outside of the device for 3D picture taking
? 3D depth slider on the side of the device
? Round numb analog stick called the "Slide Pad"
? Bottom screen is a touch panel
? Below the touch screen are Select, Home and Start buttons
? Underneath the A, B, X, Y buttons is the handheld's power button
? Motion sensor and gyroscope
? Compatible with Nintendo DSi
? A camera facing the player above the portable's 3D screen
? The ability to play 3D Hollywood movies, like Legends of the Guardians from Warner Brothers
? The 3DS launch game will be Kid Icarus: Uprising
capable of pushing GCN visuals
I'd be cool if the 3D part were nothing more than a marketing blurb, and will consider myself pleasantly surprised when a developer does something neat with it.
The hardware inside of the 3DS looks to have gotten a significant upgrade (probably a Tegra/Tegra 2 platform) and from what we've seen it looks like it is capable of pushing GCN visuals (and maybe better).
That's what I'm afraid of, it'll be more than a marketing blurb but noone will do anything neat with it other than IT'S IN 3DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDMaybe that's why I feel the 3DS sounds like a terrible idea.
Maybe I'm just getting old, but I'm kind of getting sick of handhelds basically just being yesteryear's console titles reported with inferior resolution and controls.Man, remember during the good old days when they came out with new games that implemented new ideas that were always there but we never actually thought about, like those riddles that have complex descriptions and an answer that's very simple yet encompasses a lot?
It's E3 right now, I'm just not feeling the excitement. Maybe I need to actually know what's cool in gaming.same here
Man, remember during the good old days when they came out with new games that implemented new ideas that were always there but we never actually thought about, like those riddles that have complex descriptions and an answer that's very simple yet encompasses a lot?
Oh man!
Wait.
In the Gameboy age? Fuck yeah. Games were original because the hardware was nowhere near as powerful as home consoles, and thus there was no room for ports except for the simplest of titles. With the GBA is when the trend really started reversing and it just ended up being a bunch of reports of yesteryear titles.Now it's all about NEW AGE GRAPHICS ON OLD RETRO GAMES.
Maybe I'm just getting old, but I'm kind of getting sick of handhelds basically just being yesteryear's console titles reported with inferior resolution and controls.You need to play different handheld games then.
Persona 3DS:o
(after seeing Persona for 3DS)
WHY DID I HAVE TO BUY MY DSi?
I actually wonder, if the 3DS games can be also played without 3D, can you play 3DS games on older DS systems?50 dollars if the answer is "No".
I too AM tired of handheld games having an inordinate amount of games meant to be on a TV console dumbed down though.
I actually wonder, if the 3DS games can be also played without 3D, can you play 3DS games on older DS systems?
Really new originality in games is pretty overrated at this point IMO. It's very hard to come up with something completely new without using some new hardware gimmick or whatever. I think games can be fun or whatever without having some amazing new concept. Golden sun is a good example IMO. The most original thing they have in that game is the ability to summon spells at the cost of your stats temporarily, which is quite honestly not exactly major or groundbreaking, and hardly what makes the game.Yesssss. It's just that if they make it for the handheld, they should make it feel like it's a handheld game and also implement more things that you wanted to put into the game when you were a kid.
I too AM tired of handheld games having an inordinate amount of games meant to be on a TV console dumbed down though. But handhelds still have plenty of great titles themselves, and most of them give you the same golden age of gaming feeling you did back in the gold old SNES days.
Persona 3DS and SRW 3DS.:o
Yep... I'm hosed.
Of course not. The 3DS has a much more powerful processor/GPU than the DS.Just as I thought. Now I can wait many years until I get enough money for a 3DS and basically every game Atlus will release for it...
Just as I thought. Now I can wait many years until I get enough money for a 3DS and basically every game Atlus will release for it...Hah! You think Atlus is going to print enough copies for you to either a) find new ones years after the fact, or b) have used copies at a reasonable price?
Hah! You think Atlus is going to print enough copies for you to either a) find new ones years after the fact, or b) have used copies at a reasonable price?...damnit Atlus.
Hah! You think Atlus is going to print enough copies for you to either a) find new ones years after the fact, or b) have used copies at a reasonable price?I saw Digital Devil Saga 2 a few days ago. New. So Yeah.
I saw Digital Devil Saga 2 a few days ago. New. So Yeah.
I'm not a big fan of any of this motion control stuff, but Sony's does appear to blow its competitors outta the water.Unfortunately none of the games look to have done anything interesting with it.
They printed more copies of DDS2 than they did of DDS1. Seriously....this is so strange, I have only one thing to say: Why?
...this is so strange, I have only one thing to say: Why?:derp:
On-topic: Suikama, don't tell me you didn't know of Okamiden until now?
Because Valve has such a great history of PS3 support :VProbably not :derp:
Also, is Ninty planning to implement a DLC transfer scheme beyond "buy everything again Ha ha, old chap!" this time?
Because Valve has such a great history of PS3 support :V
Because Valve has such a great history of PS3 support :V
Also, is Ninty planning to implement a DLC transfer scheme beyond "buy everything again lol" this time?
:o :o :o :o :oNo, no it isn't. Especially considering it doesn't offer anything the PSN doesn't already have.
Sony just won this gen hands down. Steam on PS3. Jesus Christ that is a KILLER APP if there is a definition of one.
No, no it isn't. Especially considering it doesn't offer anything the PSN doesn't already have.
...Which means we can expect Sony to show off a crapload of games but only have one actual announcement that will make any impact, and Nintendo to bring its fans to its knees with tears of shame - and then tears of pure joy.
Also Kojima trolling someone again.
I... don't think you understand the kind of impact Steamworks has. It is singlehandedly saving the PC gaming platform. It is bringing a whole new distribution platform for indy devs.Unfortunately, Steam coming to PS3 isn't what's going on. The only thing that's known for sure is that you'll have chat and connectivity features with Steam like as if you're playing on your PC, while playing Portal 2 on the PS3.
The Steam name alone brings a lot of weight and advertisement. The fact that PS3 is now a first-class citizen of one of the biggest independent dev houses is ridiculous. The rest is just gravy.
Unfortunately, Steam coming to PS3 isn't what's going on. The only thing that's known for sure is that you'll have chat and connectivity features with Steam like as if you're playing on your PC, while playing Portal 2 on the PS3.
No sign of anything actual meaningful content-wise or even beyond the scope of Portal 2.
Er, that IS, effectively, Steam.For one game.
TSO wasn't implying that PS3 would be getting the full deployment of Steam games, obviously. But Steam will be supported on PS3 in terms of in-game chat, content distribution (patches), etc. This is very very big.
For one game.tf2tf2tf2tf2tf2
And unless I missed something, these are things already handled by the PSN; the only difference is that it's cross-connected with PC.
tf2tf2tf2tf2tf2I missed the part where they announced they were going to update PS3's TF2, then.
I missed the part where they announced they were going to update PS3's TF2, then.They didn't. They said Steamworks for Portal 2, and nothing more.
Bwahahaha yes Twisted Metal PS3. About freakin' time.
Bwahahaha yes Twisted Metal PS3. About freakin' time.Oh wow how long as it been :o
Oh wow how long as it been :o
This (http://e3.nintendo.com/wii/game/?g=kirby) Is the cutest thing in the history of ever.KIIIIIIIIIIRBY!!! :* :* :*
This (http://e3.nintendo.com/wii/game/?g=kirby) Is the cutest thing in the history of ever.
Is it weird that this game reminds me more of Yoshi's Island than of any actual Kirby game? Not saying that's necessarily a bad thing.You mean Yoshi's Story? (except without the yoshis singing thank god)
SRW 3DS.I came
The Kirby game is adorable and a mustbuy for me.But will still probably come with Angry American Kirby box art :3
But will still probably come with Angry American Kirby box art :3
It's like they put OoT, TP, and WW in a blender
Hermaphrodites in games, huh.New and original concept.
It's like they put OoT, TP, and WW in a blenderI don't consider that a bad thing, though hopefully they take another few steps back from the "realism" side of things. A small detail in the images we've seen is that instead of fading out images in the distance they take on a watercolor-ish appearance. I like.
Hermaphrodites in games, huh.Didn't we already have this in Nier?
After yesterday's collective industry boondoggle, I was not looking forward to seeing Nintendo's E3 press conference. With 3DS on its way, things were just destined to make me angry. I mean, I've got really crappy eyes thanks to losing the genetic lottery, and 3D effects just don't work for me. Even when I can visualize them, they give me a headache in short order. That Crysis 2 demo at EA's conference yesterday made my skull go from zero to explode in about five seconds. And now Nintendo is inflicting a platform built entirely around 3D on us? Honestly, I was taking it as a personal affront.
Then I actually got to use the 3DS, and... wow. It works. It doesn't strain my eyes at all, yet I can absolutely see the depth. I'm not exaggerating that the realization that my poor eyesight won't shut me out of the next generation of portable gaming was the single happiest moment I've ever had at a gaming industry event. It's one thing to see cool new games -- speaking of which, finally! Kid Icarus! -- but another thing entirely to learn I am not suddenly biologically obsolete.
3DS bit from Jeremy Perish (relevant to some posters ITT):
Enoch looks like a Guildwars paragon. Whats with all these biblical based games all a sudden?
3DS bit from Jeremy Perish (relevant to some posters ITT):
This is good news, but I'm still really curious as to how exactly the 3D effect actually works. I feel like they're being kind of vague about it.
Kirby game looks pretty neat, but even more cutsie than usual. Also, Drake pointed out:
<Drake> i'm still unsure about abilities and eating things
<Drake> i have not seen any eating
Which I'm kinda worried about too. Ah well, a new Kirby platformer is bound to be awesome.
I still don't like the 3DS because I don't know, I feel like it's just saying "the DS was nothing, WE'VE GOT SOMETHING NEW" in just two years? Maybe I'm just picky with money.The DS first came out 6 years ago :V
More Skyward Sword gameplay. (http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/5673/skywardbzzzz.jpg)ahahahaha oh you
Also I watched that El Shaddai trailer and did not once hear the hymn of that name. Son, I am disappoint.
Kirby game looks pretty neat, but even more cutsie than usual. Also, Drake pointed out:
<Drake> i'm still unsure about abilities and eating things
<Drake> i have not seen any eating
Which I'm kinda worried about too. Ah well, a new Kirby platformer is bound to be awesome.
The 3DS having a "3D depth slider" option makes it worth the purchase, methinks. This "400 pixels allocated to each eye" thing had me skeptical, but the 3D depth slider makes it pretty reasonable. Turn off that 3D garbage if you don't want it, or just tone it down if you're getting a headache.
The DS first came out 6 years ago :VI feel old now.
Kirby seems to hold enemies above his head in a sphere before he tosses them, so maybe he just injests them but not inhales. Like Kirby 64, or something.Klonoa?!
I feel old now.
Thanks to his versatile yarn composition, Kirby can take on a variety of forms both in his common actions and when he transforms into powerful vehicles. When Kirby dashes, he zips around as a car. In water, he turns into a submarine. At times he can even transform into a massive robotic tank, a UFO and other vehicles.
Two players can play through the entire game together (additional accessories required and are sold separately).
I don't see why it's such a big deal to leave abilities and stuff out of Kirby. Using the same formula would definitely get stale after so long, so I'm willing to welcome something new-- especially since I find the game itself to be so charming <3Indeed, but in all honesty I was hoping for that Super Star-style game that was announced for the Gamecube a while ago. Maybe it mutated into this?
Basically all they're doing is taking a 800x480 screen, and interleaving every other pixel and polarizing it so it shows the two split images. So imagine a checkerboard where every white space is polarized to show up in your left eye, and every black space is polarized to show up in your right. That's basically how the 3D effect works. So in reality you're getting a quarter of the quality as much as you would have normally gotten.Half. The display is 800x240, the horizontal resolution is what is split between your eyes.
Honestly it's the most disappointing thing of the 3DS, how stupid low the resolution is. It's frankly cheating. Hell the PSP still has a higher resolution and better GPU than the 3DS, and it's what, 5-6 years old now? Fuck this 3D gimmick, they should have just made the screen 800x480 and left it 2D and it would have been so much better.I'm not seeing this, especially your comments about the PSP.
Half. The display is 800x240, the horizontal resolution is what is split between your eyes.
I'm not seeing this, especially your comments about the PSP.
(http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t299/Barrakketh/temp/th_1276659917486.png) (http://s163.photobucket.com/albums/t299/Barrakketh/temp/?action=view¤t=1276659917486.png)
(http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t299/Barrakketh/temp/th_1276659502860.jpg) (http://s163.photobucket.com/albums/t299/Barrakketh/temp/?action=view¤t=1276659502860.jpg)
Looks better than the PS2 and PSP IMO.
(http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t299/Barrakketh/temp/th_2lialnb.jpg) (http://s163.photobucket.com/albums/t299/Barrakketh/temp/?action=view¤t=2lialnb.jpg) (http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t299/Barrakketh/temp/th_rub9qp.jpg) (http://s163.photobucket.com/albums/t299/Barrakketh/temp/?action=view¤t=rub9qp.jpg) (http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t299/Barrakketh/temp/th_4rfbi9.jpg) (http://s163.photobucket.com/albums/t299/Barrakketh/temp/?action=view¤t=4rfbi9.jpg)
Screen resolution only really matters to a point based on physical size and viewing distance. As far as I'm concerned "high enough" of a resolution is one where jaggies aren't a problem when viewed in person, and AA can help with that as well.
Oh so they're literally just doing "this half goes to your left, and this to your right" instead of interlacing? That's retarded =|Not really. That's just how these things work, especially if they're using a parallax barrier. I see no advantage in splitting the vertical resolution. Interlacing is generally stupid and an artifact from the CRT era (that's why LCDs have to deinterlace material prior to being displayed, which gives you input lag).
It's low-resolution garbage IMHOThen don't buy one.
We have the hardware and the screens to be able to push 800x480, and it's not much to ask for. I'm not expecting 720p here. Just maybe can we get a handheld that has the same level of hardware as a 10 year old console?No. There are practical concerns like battery life and cost.
Not really. That's just how these things work, especially if they're using a parallax barrier. I see no advantage in splitting the vertical resolution. Interlacing is generally stupid and an artifact from the CRT era (that's why LCDs have to deinterlace material prior to being displayed, which gives you input lag).
Then don't buy one.
No. There are practical concerns like battery life and cost.
Did you know that there was another handheld released around the same time as the DS that had a bigger high-resolution screen and PS2-ish graphics? It's the failure known as the PSP. They basically did what you are asking for, and the market didn't buy into it. UMD as a format was a disaster.
Nintendo isn't stupid. They do some really dumb things (the DS/Wii friend code bullshit), but they aren't going to push out another PSP/early-life PS3 (599 US Dollars) to the market. Especially in this economy.
It's the failure known as the PSP.
Vertical resolution is better perceived than horizontal. Adding a few pixels to each edge is negligable, it's the increase of vertical lines that makes a far bigger difference in detail.I don't see that being the case. Pixel density, on the other hand...
As for the interlacing comment I was just unsure how they were delivering the two polarized images. I just figured they were interlacing because 800x480 screens are far more common than an 800x240 one.This is just a guess based on the fact that this method would play nicely with the slider that lets you adjust the effect:
Hahahah cost. Nintendo is the only console manufacturer that makes a profit off of hardware sales. Both Sony and MS sell their consoles below cost and make the margin up with software sales. Cost isn't even a factor here.Sure it is. Cost control is how Nintendo prints money. It's how they still made a profit during the N64 and GCN eras and kept afloat as a company. Smart business practices are why Nintendo has had one unprofitable quarter in the history of the company.
As for battery life, that point is moot too. Anything over 8 hours is frankly unnecessary. Since the GBA we've been using rechargable batteries for handhelds. There's no need for a handheld that gets 72 hours between charges when at most 1% of owners would be without a means to charge it for that long.We had first-party rechargeable solutions for the original Gameboy. It was an external battery that you plugged into the power adapter slot.
Failure? UMD only failed as a MOVIE format. It's done very well as a game media format. It is still very much cost competitive with the flash media the 3DS is going to use.Done "very well"? I guess you could say that "it works" for the PSP but other then cost I don't see it having any advantages over the DS/3DS cards, and the 3DS cards available for developers at launch will have more capacity than a dual-layer UMD disc.
If you consider that Nintendo has basically been the undisputed ruler of handhelds since the Gameboy came out in the 80s, having a handheld that didn't immediately flop in 3 months is amazing. The PSP has carved out a decent market and is doing very well for itself. It is still getting regular titles, and is now even getting a replacement in development.It's market is a bit strange, because the PSP hardware is far more popular than software sales would suggest. Which is to say that piracy far outstrips software sales, and PSPs jailbroken for homebrew and emulation use seem to be more common than stock PSPs.
Maybe I'm just yearning for the old Nintendo that actually used to push the barriers of console tech instead of packaging last decade's tech with a few marketing gimmicks. Between the Wii and this, I am frankly sick of Nintendo's new "models". The N64 was the first truely 3D console, and first to embrace multiple movement inputs (DPad + analog stick). The DS was revolutionary when it came out. Noone had done a touchscreen on a handheld, let alone two screens. And both were probably the most powerful members of their respective generations in terms of graphical horsepower.While waggle is generally overrated, the pointer on the Wi remote is the controller's best feature. It's a far better FPS controller than dual-analog and second only to the keyboard and mouse IMO.
3D? It's just the latest marketing fad that has pushed through Hollywood and will eventually be ignored.We'll see how well that statement holds up after the 3DS comes out. People were ragging on the DS's touchscreen and waggle when the Wii came out, and both are huge successes.
Hey, don't be ragging on my portable Monster Hunter machine. :derp:Hey, it gets some good exclusives :V
I don't see that being the case. Pixel density, on the other hand...This is just a guess based on the fact that this method would play nicely with the slider that lets you adjust the effect:
Sure it is. Cost control is how Nintendo prints money. It's how they still made a profit during the N64 and GCN eras and kept afloat as a company. Smart business practices are why Nintendo has had one unprofitable quarter in the history of the company.
You say Sony and MS make up the margin with software sales, but that's a short sighted view of things. It took Sony and Microsoft years to turn a profit, and just because they eventually started making money (as opposed to losing it) doesn't mean much when you consider how much they lost. Sony basically lost all of the money they made during the PS2 era because of the PS3 and then some, and still haven't (and probably never will) make it back. The 360 isn't much better off.
If neither company had other divisions to prop up their gaming business they would be dead. Nintendo does gaming and only gaming. They don't sell operating systems or music players or TVs.
We had first-party rechargeable solutions for the original Gameboy. It was an external battery that you plugged into the power adapter slot.
But you say "anything over 8 hours" is unnecessary and seemingly forget how poor the PSP's battery life is. One of the early (if not launch) racing games would kill the battery within two and a half hours if were using the wireless.
Depending on the CPU needs of the game, wireless use, and UMD use, it can kill its battery pretty quickly. I know there are ways to run games off of the memory stick, but last I checked that's generally used by pirates and not an official installation method for UMD games.
Done "very well"? I guess you could say that "it works" for the PSP but other then cost I don't see it having any advantages over the DS/3DS cards, and the 3DS cards available for developers at launch will have more capacity than a dual-layer UMD disc.
It's market is a bit strange, because the PSP hardware is far more popular than software sales would suggest. Which is to say that piracy far outstrips software sales, and PSPs jailbroken for homebrew and emulation use seem to be more common than stock PSPs.
While waggle is generally overrated, the pointer on the Wi remote is the controller's best feature. It's a far better FPS controller than dual-analog and second only to the keyboard and mouse IMO.
We'll see how well that statement holds up after the 3DS comes out. People were ragging on the DS's touchscreen and waggle when the Wii came out, and both are huge successes.
Yet even with "cost controls" the N64 was still a revolutionary console. The GCN was a little more conservative but it also came into the game later and had the benefit of watching how badly the PS2 was doing with wonky architectures.And both the N64 and GCN did poorly compared to the PS1/PS2. Many people were wondering if Nintendo was going to pull a Sega and leave the hardware business, but at least they had their successful portables.
A friend of mine (and a huge finance/econ buff), explained to me pretty clearly what Sony is doing for the PS3. It knew it was going to be a painful painful transition to a new platform, especially one so markedly different than the previous gen. So it hedged its bets on this gen being a shakedown.Which sounds like bullshit. If you listened to anything the executives and spokespersons from Sony were saying, or the industry analysts, they were clearly betting on the PlayStation brand and PS2 owner loyalty in carrying them through.
It bought into Cell, and promoted the fuck out of it. It now owns a foundry just for producing them.According to this (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUST28617520080220?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews) Sony sold their production facilities for Cell and RSX to Toshiba. So much for that!
Whereas Nintendo is going to have to struggle to find a new architecture (the Wii/GCN hardware is at its limits, and doesn't even have facilities such as virtualization support).I doubt Nintendo is going to "struggle" to find anything. Since the N64 days they've had their GPUs custom designed by ATI (formerly ArtX), so it's not like they are lacking in expertise in GPU design.
Sony is making a direct attack at Nintendo's market with MoveAnd yet before Sony bought into Move they were saying that the PS3 and Wii weren't even in the same market and that motion controls were a gimmick. Lawl.
UMD is far from dead, even with the falling price of flash it is still far cheaper to press a UMD disc than to write to memstick. It also has the advantages over download-only releases in allowing people to trade and resell their old games, something that cannot be discounted.So back to my question, does UMD have any advantages over the DS/3DS carts other than cost? And you can even resell those!
Capacity isn't the only thing that matters. If that were the case consoles would have moved to flash drives and stuff years ago... yet they haven't. Pressing a disc is still infinitely cheaper than building a cartridge. And there is no reason we can't have multi UMD disc games, like we've had for consoles for decades.
Nintendo is so ingrained in YOU ONLY USE MY CONSOLE FOR GAMES, that it's frankly boring nowadays:derp:
Err, the Wii's pointer detection is horribly inaccurate and painful to use.Wut?
Holding a controller like a remote is actually not that ergonomically good of a position, and it frankly gets tiring after a while.The Wii's remote is one hell of a lot more comfortable than the DualShock controllers, and my only complaint is that it and the nunchuck aren't bigger.
Honestly, it'll probably be a commercial success, but all it's going to do is dilute the market with even more shovelware. Look at the huuuuuuuuuuuuge percentage of shovelware titles for the DS and Wii. Is that something you really want to succeed?If people want to pay for garbage, they are more than welcome to. You could've said the same thing about the PS2 when it reigned supreme.
And both the N64 and GCN did poorly compared to the PS1/PS2. Many people were wondering if Nintendo was going to pull a Sega and leave the hardware business, but at least they had their successful portables.
Which sounds like bullshit. If you listened to anything the executives and spokespersons from Sony were saying, or the industry analysts, they were clearly betting on the PlayStation brand and PS2 owner loyalty in carrying them through.
According to this (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUST28617520080220?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews) Sony sold their production facilities for Cell and RSX to Toshiba. So much for that!
I doubt Nintendo is going to "struggle" to find anything. Since the N64 days they've had their GPUs custom designed by ATI (formerly ArtX), so it's not like they are lacking in expertise in GPU design.
The GCN and Wii's CPU were custom designs by IBM built on the POWER/PPC architecture, though Nintendo may choose a different direction. But guess what other consoles have used a POWER-based CPU? The 360's CPU and the PS3 (via the PPE in Cell) both do, so Nintendo's competitors seem to be doing fine with that. Those were made by IBM as well...
And yet before Sony bought into Move they were saying that the PS3 and Wii weren't even in the same market and that motion controls were a gimmick. Lawl.
So back to my question, does UMD have any advantages over the DS/3DS carts other than cost? And you can even resell those!
And even though the discs may be cheaper to press, I haven't really noticed those saving being passed onto consumers.
My consoles get used for games, and only games. HTPCs work wonderfully well for everything else, and I don't have to worry about things like my subtitles not working correctly since so many solutions for streaming to your consoles manage to fuck it up righteously.
One of the announcements for the 3DS was movies being made available for it. It'll be interesting to see how that is actually delivered even though it's not something I'm interested in.
Wut?
The Wii's remote is one hell of a lot more comfortable than the DualShock controllers, and my only complaint is that it and the nunchuck aren't bigger.
If people want to pay for garbage, they are more than welcome to. You could've said the same thing about the PS2 when it reigned supreme.
So long as games that I like keep being made, I'm fine with ignoring the shovelware. I'm pretty excited about the 3DS lineup, but maybe you consider the SMT series shovelware or something...
The N64 was a "flop" commercially because Nintendo made the same mistake Sega did, hoarding the devkits to themselves instead of fostering a good third party market.I don't recall the problem being devkit hoarding. It was partly the increased cost (and reduced margins) from sticking with cartridges (especially for larger games), but more-so that Nintendo was still being as draconian with their approval processes as they were back in the NES/SNES days.
GCN did ok for itself, but was just overshadowed by the ridiculous success the PS2 was. Better than the first Xbox that's for sure.Oh, you silly goose. Read this (http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/library/historical_data/pdf/consolidated_sales_e0912.pdf) and this (http://www.xbox.com/zh-SG/community/news/2006/20060510.htm). According to Nintendo's sales document and Microsoft's press release the original Xbox outsold the GameCube. That's kinda depressing when you think about it.
And it has. The PS3 had a really shaky launch, probably one of the worst ever, and now it's nipping at the heels of the 360 and is likely to surpass it very soon.A more likely answer is that the 360 market is mostly saturated as more and more people that want one already own the console, especially since it was released earlier than the PS3 (plus the PS3 was horrendously overpriced at launch, putting off potential early adopters). It'll be interesting to see whether the slim 360 manages to perk up sales for more than a few months.
Once the third parties got used to the architecture, it has really taken off.The exclusives have gotten better, but the multi-platform titles almost always have the PS3 release being the graphically inferior version (FF XIII is a notable exception)
The problem isn't finding hardware, it's the platform they've put out. The Wii has no hypervisor, no capabilities for virtualization.Care to name any advantages to having visualization support for the software developers (as I mention below, I think you're referring to managed code)? As it stands now it's being used for security (to prevent modding/pirating) on the 360/PS3, so as a platform for developers it doesn't really matter.
They only hit the ground running for software devs because basically there was ZERO change between the GCN and Wii, so they really didn't have to do anything.That really wasn't the case. It wasn't until E3 2006 that developers even started paying attention to the Wii, and that showed in both the number and quality of titles that were being released by companies that weren't Nintendo. The Wii was written off well before launch.
The problem is the devs are used to coding on a system where they basically have full control of the hardware, with no virtualization. Virtualization forces you to stick to standard APIs and shy away from "hacks" and other undocumented features in your code. This allows it to be a lot easier to make the games forwards compatible with the next system generation. It also allows console devs to backport features that weren't available at launch.It almost sounds like you're confusing virtualization with something else, like managed code. What you're talking about is more like Microsoft's XNA, which is different than what development is for the PS3 is like.
Look at Sony's big announcement that Move will be supported in much older titles such as RE5, Resistance, etc. The Wii can't do that without pressing new CDs. Imagine how much more successful the WiiMotionPlus would have been if they could have backported it to like Twilight Princess. Same with things like Wii Speak.Nintendo's policy with how they manage downloadable games and patches (which are non-existent for disc-based games) is dumb. Their per-system and per-game friend codes are dumb. Games with locked-down saves are dumb. The fact that they took so long for SDHC card support is dumb.
I don't think you understand the price discrepancy. Most flash chips with the same capacity of UMDs are going to be in the 5-10 dollar range per chip, even at bulk pricing. A UMD? Probably pennies. It's a huge margin change when you're talking about software sales in hundreds of thousands to millions.Dual-layer UMDs are only 1.8GGB. $5-10? Try looking at retail prices for 2GB SD cards with Google and you'll see cards in that range and cheaper, let alone if you were find quotes for bulk pricing. And remember that you only need writable storage for save files, so between bulk savings and the fact that most of a chip would only need to be written to once I could see it being considerably cheaper than what we see for SD cards. Several times more expensive than a UMD disc, sure, but in all likelyhood a fraction of the cost that you think they would be.
Maybe I'm getting old but I don't like having twelve boxes that all only do one thing each. I like having choice and functionality beyond "it's a nice paperweight!" when I'm not in the mood to play. If I'm already paying 300-400 bucks for a console, is it really that much to ask for it to do more than just play games, especially in this day and age?You know, my PC is just one more device for that sort of thing. I use it for games. I use it for work. I use it to watch videos.
At 400x240? Hah. You thought UMD flopped bad this is going to be godawful.Assuming they do it with digital distribution? Sure, I think it has a chance. I can see Nintendo fucking this up, though.
I don't play 2 inches away from my sensor bar, and I just find the pointer interface painful to use and clunky as hell.I play about eight feet away and it works perfectly unless someone is standing in front of it :3
The PS2 had a much higher proportion of good titles vs shovelware than the DS and Wii ever hope to. I haven't even gotten close to playing all the great games PS2 had to offer, yet I can count on my hand how many good Wii or DS titles there are.:/
There's no indication if those are launch, near-launch or just big "maybe if we feel like doing it in a few years" titles.AFAIK the games listed in the PDF on Nintendo's site are in-development. The new Kid Icarus game will likely be a launch title, as it's being done by the studio founded by Iwata (Nintendo's president) and Sakurai (The Smash Bros guy) who hasn't been doing any other projects. The new DKC game will probably be launch or near-launch since Retro has been working on another project since some time in 2008 and hasn't done anything else since Corruption/Trilogy.
I seriously doubt those are all launch titles. That being said, Nintendo is notorious for having a fantastic launch lineup and then failing to have anything meaningful for a few years. N64 and GCN had two of the best console launches ever, Super Mario 64 is likely the best launch title period. But then look at the slide shortly after.That's because Nintendo were the ones having to drive everything. 3rd party support was largely shit (just like with the Wii).
Crossplatform play for games from a company that makes FPSs.
Big deal.
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.
Oh, boy! The Steam Forums are going to be loads of fun after thisEh, it means more scrubs to kill if TF2 for the PS3 gets an update.
Umm, you do realize that Steam (and the Source engine) is used by games that aren't FPSes. This is huge, and the first actual attempt between a big name dev house/publisher and a console maker to try to bridge the cap between consoles and PCs. MS is doing everything it can to make the divide deeper, and Nintendo has no online strategy to speak of, so this is a refreshing change of pace.That is an interesting idea that will become relevant as soon as you provide evidence that suggests that this might apply to games other than those produced by Valve.